Phobia
by Kelcor
Summary: Danny thinks that Steve's not afraid of anything... he's about to find out how wrong he is! Prepare for some shameless Steve h/c, people! *grin*  WARNING! H/C SCENES ARE OOC! Rated "T". No Slash COMPLETE! More H/C added to Chapter 10 by popular request!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N I know this story will be AU once tonight's episode airs but it has been on my mind for the past week and today is the first day I've had time to write it. It'll probably just be a two-shot. This is the set up... Next chapter will be the h/c. :o) Sorry if the voices aren't right on... I'm still working on that. ~Kelcor_

Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett and Detective Danny Williams made their way through the thick foliage with much less fervour than they had started out with over half an hour ago. It was an unusually hot day, even for Hawaii, and the heat was getting to both of them.

Steve had just recently found out that his mother had not died in a car accident 18 years ago but had, in fact, been murdered - and his father had known this little piece of trivia all along. Danny could tell that his partner had slept very little since Chin had taken him aside a week ago and told him about both the investigation and the fact that the police report was missing from HPD's archives. McGarrett would never admit it, but his lack of sleep was beginning to take it's toll... not to mention the emotional ramifications that type of news was bound to have on anyone - even the fearless ex-SEAL.

"Okay," Danny began, "I don't mean to sound like one of the Smurfs here but is it much further?"

Steve rewarded Danny's quip with a sideways look and a half smile. "Mary used to love that show when we were kids."

"Now, there's a name I haven't heard in a while. How is the cooler sibling doing, anyway," Danny asked between pants for air.

"Not sure," McGarrett replied with a shrug. "I haven't heard from her in a few weeks."

"Well, has she heard from you?"

"Shhh," McGarrett whispered suddenly, grabbing Danny by the elbow and pulling him off the path to hunker down in the bushes. Before Danny could offer a protest, he saw what had attracted Steve's attention. Just beyond their current location was a clearing filled with six large thug-like men, each heavily armed. Off to the right were three packing crates.

"I thought your Intel said there would only be two smuggler-wannabe's for us to deal with," Danny whispered.

"Huh. Guess my informant was wrong." Steve made a move to enter the clearing with his usual gung-ho attitude, only to have Danny yank him back down.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Uh, I don't know, Danny. Maybe my job? We came out here to bust these guys. Let's get it done."

"Of course, that's what you want to do," Danny snarked.

"What's your problem?"

"Two against six sound fair to you, McGarrett?"

"We should be able to take 'em."

"You looking to take Gracie's father away from her?"

Steve thought about this for a moment as he eyed the criminals sitting several feet away from them. He turned back to Danny, grim but serious. "You're right. You wait here." Again, he started to make his move but Danny grabbed his wrist in an iron grip.

"Don't be an idiot, McGarrett! I'm not letting you take away her favourite uncle, either," Danny whispered fiercely.

This proclamation brought a bit of a smile to his partner's face. "Uncle? Really?"

"Yeah, well, I tried to talk her out of it but she seems to really care about you, and I don't have any brothers so… Look, it doesn't matter right now. What matters is you not committing suicide-by-tattooed-muscle-freak! We don't even know what's in those crates over there. They could have much more firepower than what we're seeing."

"So, then, what do you suggest?"

"I suggest we call for back up."

"There's no cell reception out here."

"Then we go back to the car."

"Danny, it's more than half an hour's walk from here. An hour, if you count walking back once back up arrives."

With a sigh, Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. He really didn't want to make that walk again. He returned his attention to the men in the clearing and his mood brightened exponentially.

"What?" Steve asked, seeing the grin on his partner's face.

Danny jerked his chin out, silently urging Steve to follow his line of sight. When he did, Steve's smile matched Danny's. There, sitting on the ground next to one of the thugs, was a satellite phone.

"Good thinking, Danno! We get our hands on that satellite phone and we'll be able to call for back up. I just wish we knew what was in those crates."

At that moment, the satellite phone chirped. The thug closest to it snatched it up off the ground and answered. Steve and Danny were too far away to hear what was being said, but the guy definitely looked pissed! He glanced around the clearing, peering into the bushes. Danny and Steve both ducked down closer to the ground.

After a lot of yelling, several booted feet ran toward them. Both Five-0 agents held their breath and prepared to defend themselves but the men continued on past them, back the way the agents had originally come. Returning their attention to the clearing, they saw that only one thug remained, machine gun braced in his hands, ready to fire at anything that moved.

"Okay," Danny whispered, "this is what we'll do." He turned to face Steve but he wasn't there. With a start, he scanned the clearing. "Idiot," he muttered. McGarrett was over at the crates, trying to pull one open so he could see what was inside. He turned to Danny and used his hands to shape out a large gun of some sort - Danny never had been good at charades. He did, however, know how to show emotion with his hands and he let Steve know, in no uncertain terms, what he thought of his partner going off on his own.

"Don't move," was uttered to him in an ice cold voice, just as the muzzle of a machine gun was pressed against the back of his neck. Danny raised his hands, casting a heatless glare at McGarrett while the thug removed his police issue firearm from its holster and tossed it further into the woods.

"Okay, okay, stay cool, man."

"Get up!"

"First, you tell me not to move. Now, you're telling me to get up. You can see how a guy might get confused here, right?"

His answer was the barrel of the gun being shoved even harder against his flesh.

"Got it. Getting up. Just stay cool." Danny slowly rose to his feet and stepped into the clearing, purposely moving away from where he had last seen Steve.

"You're one of the cops that we got the call about. Where's your partner?"

"Partner? What partner? I don't have a partner. I came out here alone."

"How stupid do you think I am?"

"Uh, I don't really think I should answer that question, seeing as you'll probably shoot me if I do."

"I'm gonna shoot you, anyway."

"Oh, well, since you put it that way…"

H50H50H50

Steve watched in horror as Danny was forced into the clearing at gunpoint. Crate forgotten, he crept towards the guy threatening to kill his partner… failing to see the movement through the opening he had created in the shipping container.

TBC

Reviews?


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! This chapter is a little shorter but I felt compelled to offer up something in return! I hope this lives up to your expectations! ~Kelcor_

Knowing that any gunfire would bring the rest of this guy's crew running back to the clearing, Steve knew that stealth was the key here. So, leaving his gun holstered, he inched his way forward, while Danny distracted the guy, neither of the Five-0 agents noticing the unexpected enemy behind Steve.

As he came up to the gunman's back, little more than a foot away, Steve prepared to make his move, aiming to trap the guy in a choke hold… when his foot landed on a dry branch. Danny had, unfortunately, chosen that moment to stall in his banter. In the comparative silence, the cracking of the branch seemed to be as loud as a cannon!

The thug swung around to face Steve, just as Steve himself leapt forward, knocking the gunman to the ground and landing on top of him, the machine gun thrown to the side in the struggle. The thug, being beefier than Steve got the upper hand for a moment and rolled to the right, putting Steve below him. The huge amount of weight knocked the air out of Steve's lungs but his agility won him bonus points as he wriggled an arm free and elbowed the thug in the nose, knocking him off his chest and back onto the ground.

Taking advantage of the bloody-nose-distraction, Steve took his gun out of its holster but the thug recovered faster than expected and knocked the gun out of Steve's hand, sending it flying somewhere into the bushes. He then slammed Steve in the face with a huge fist. Once. Twice. He pulled a large knife out of his belt and raised it above his head. Steve's eyes widened as the knife came hurtling towards his chest - BANG!

A look of shock registered on the thug's face before he fell forward on top of Steve.

Steve looked up to see Danny holding the thug's smoking gun - literally. He shoved the guy off of him with a grunt, then rolled a few feet away, toward the tree line.

"You okay?" Danny's voice was filled with concern.

Steve took a moment to take a deep, somewhat healing breath, then: "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."

"Good to know. Cuz, y'know, you look like crap."

This earned an honest-to-goodness smile from the ex-SEAL. "Thanks." They both knew what he was thanking him for.

"Your welcome," Danny replied, turning back to the path they had used to get here. "But we should really get outta here. There's no way his buddies didn't hear that gunshot. They're gonna come back and I doubt they'll be happy that we killed one of their own."

Steve didn't respond and Danny could swear there was tension in his silence.

"Steve?" He turned back to his partner, only to find him staring at the ground with more than a little trepidation. "What? What is it?"

"Uh, remember when you accused me of not being afraid of anything?"

"Yeah, the first day we met. You still give new meaning to the term 'fearless leader'," Danny said with a chuckle. Then, he put the pieces together. "Why," he asked, the single word drawn out by a distinct sense of dread.

"Because, the one thing I'm afraid of? Well, it's staring me in the face, right now."

Danny started to take a step toward him.

"No," Steve said. "Don't move."

It suddenly occurred to Danny how still McGarrett had become. Steve was never still unless he was in stealth mode. That's when he heard the hissing. "Steve, what is it?"

"Rattlesnake," Steve answered, desperately trying to keep the fear out of his voice… and failing miserably.

"No way. Can't be. Hawaii doesn't have rattlesnakes. I know. I looked up every possible venomous snake and spider when Gracie moved here. My research told me very clearly… no rattlesnakes in Hawaii."

"Well, they have 'em in Venezuela, and this one looks quite similar to a rattler I saw there once."

"But how'd it get here? I mean, they can't swim… can they?"

"No," Steve said, still not breaking eye contact with the snake. "It probably hitched a ride in one of those crates over there," he added with a barely noticeable jerk of his chin.

"Okay, so, how do we kill it then?"

Usually rattlesnakes didn't attack humans unless they felt threatened... usually. But Steve could sense something different from this particular creature. Something was off about it. Making his decision, he slowly reached out toward Danny. "Hand me the gun. Slowly," he whispered through gritted teeth.

Inch by agonizing inch, Danny handed the gun to Steve. It slid a bit in his sweat slicked hands but he managed to keep a hold of it and slowly brought it to bear on the snake. But before he was able to even place his finger on the trigger, the snake struck!

Steve grunted, barely holding back a cry of pain. As he lay on the ground, grabbing at the wound in his leg to try to ease the throbbing, the snake slithered its way toward the tree line and freedom. Danny snatched the gun away from Steve and fired a few rounds into the venomous creature, not satisfied until it lay smoking in the dirt.

With a quick glance behind him, Danny knelt at Steve's side and tore the pant leg to get a better look at the wound. The bruising was already appearing around the bite marks. Without a second's hesitation, he leaned down and began sucking the venom out, spitting it to the ground each time. He would have continued, except Steve pushed him away. "There's no time," he panted, voice tight with pain. "If they didn't hear the first gun shot, they definitely heard that. We need to go. Now."

Reluctantly, Danny agreed with his partner. He quickly ravaged the camp for supplies.

"What are you doing?"

"We can't go back the way we came. We're going to have to circle around to get to the car and get you medical attention. It might take a while," he said, grabbing a few bottles of water and tossing them into a nearby satchel. He transferred the food and medical supplies he'd found in there, as well. Tossing the satchel over one shoulder, he returned to Steve, who, of course, was struggling to get up on his own.

Without waiting to be asked, Danny gripped his partner by the elbow and hauled him the rest of the way to his feet, then wrapped the wounded man's arm over his shoulders. In the distance, they were able to hear the other firearm smugglers returning. Danny wrapped his free arm around Steve's waist and took most of his weight as they ran/hobbled into the forest, moving in the opposite direction from which they came… away from the car, cell signals, and safety.

TBC

_A/N Looks like this will be longer than a two-shot. Maybe a three-shot? That is, if you even want me to continue…? _


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N Hey, guys! Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews! Your response to this story has been truly overwhelming - it leaves me with such an awesome feeling! I will respond to each one of you individually very soon! _

Danny could tell that Steve's condition was worsening. His panting was getting more severe, rivulets of sweat were streaming down his face, and he was unconsciously allowing Danny to take more and more of his weight. And, as if that wasn't enough, the growing strength of the winds and the dark clouds overhead were not all that encouraging, either.

Whether they had put enough distance between themselves and the gun runners or not, if they didn't stop and do at least some basic first aid, Steve wasn't going to make it - and Grace was not losing her favourite uncle!

Pulling them both to a stop, he eased Steve down to the ground, leaning him back against a large tree, then he set the satchel of supplies down next to him.

"We don't… have time… for this," Steve complained between breaths.

"Well, we are going to make the time, GI Joe," Danny said in his no-nonsense voice, as he pulled a bottle of water out of the satchel. He quickly unscrewed the top and held it up to Steve's mouth, earning an indignant glare from the ex-SEAL who snatched the bottle out of his partner's hand. "Fine, spill it all over yourself for all I care," Danny grumbled, even while watching Steve with poorly veiled concern, ready to help at the first sign of trouble.

As McGarrett fumbled with the bottle, though with surprisingly minimum spillage, Danny unfastened the tie from around his neck. They needed to get help but first thing's first.

Steve set the near empty bottle down on the ground next to his hip. "When you researched… poisonous snakes… you didn't research… effective first aid… did you?"

"I didn't get that far because I never planned on letting Grace go anywhere near the places that inhabit them. Which just gives me yet another reason to hate Hawaii." He focussed his attention on wrapping the tie around Steve's upper calf. "I told you wearing a tie would come in handy."

"Don't blame… the island. Blame the guys… who smuggled in the… guns 'n cocaine."

"Guns and cocaine? Seriously? Thugs who can multi-task. Who knew?"

"Cocaine… must be why… the snake struck… without being… provoked."

"What would the cocaine have to do with a cranky rattlesnake?"

Steve gave Danny his '_think about it_' look.

"What?" Suddenly, he froze, one end of the tie in each hand. He stared incredulously at McGarrett. "Wait a minute. A stoned rattlesnake? You're kidding."

"Wish I was," Steve replied with a wince.

Before tightening the tie, knowing it would be painful, Danny attempted at a distraction. "Why did you ask, anyway?"

"Ask what?" Steve gazed up at him in confusion.

"About my research into poisonous snakes."

"Because - " he broke off with a pained grunt when Danny suddenly wrenched the tie as tight as he could to try to stop the poison from flowing any further up Steve's leg - praying that he wasn't too late to do even that much - and hoping that he hadn't made it too tight, jeopardizing the limb due to lack of blood flow. He gripped the back of Steve's neck to offer what little comfort he could.

When McGarrett's eyes fell shut, Danny's heart leapt into his throat. Desperately, he pressed two fingers below his partner's jaw… and breathed a sigh of relief when he was greeted with a pulse. It was a little fast but Steve's heart was beating and that's all that really mattered. For now.

With Steve temporarily down for the count, Danny reached for the satchel again, never taking his eyes off his unconscious partner.

H50H50H50H50

Steve opened his eyes again, revealing a somewhat panicked Danny Williams kneeling at his side.

"'Bout time you woke up, Sleeping Beauty," Danny snarked, his sarcasm doing nothing to hide the very real concern beneath.

"What… happened?"

"You passed out on me."

"Didn't. I was… just resting… my eyes."

"Whatever you say. So, what were you saying about my research into snakes?"

Steve had to think for a moment, then: "Just for future reference… sucking the venom out yourself… is a myth brought about by… movies and television." He indicated the tourniquet with a jerk of his chin. "And… so is this."

"Oh. Well, you're welcome. Look, it was the only thing I could think of at the time, okay. So, sue me."

"Maybe later… Danno," Steve replied with his trademark half grin.

"As for the tourniquet, better this than nothing, right?"

"Maybe," Steve conceded. Not bothering to lecture his partner about the blocking of blood flow. The guy was just trying to help, after all. And really, he had a point, there wasn't much else that could be done without the presence of medical professionals and the many tools at their disposal.

"So, then, what **do** I need to do to keep you from dying?"

"Didn't know you… cared…"

"Grace does," Danny feigned, wilting somewhat under Steve's knowing look. "Whatever. Just fill me in before you pass out on me, will you?"

Steve glared up at him. "I will not pass out."

"Already crossed that bridge, partner. Humour me, okay?"

"Best treatment… is anti-venom," Steve told him, a small smirk playing on his lips.

"Well, let's assume for the time being that anti-venom is not readily available out here in the middle of BFN. Any other tips?"

"Keep the wound… below the heart at all times. Harder for the venom to… travel upstream."

"Okay. What else?"

"Pressure Immobilization."

"And for us non-SEAL's not versed in cryptic medical terminology?"

Steve sighed. "Got an ACE Bandage handy?"

"Uh, yeah, back in the car," Danny replied with more than a little sarcasm. "Why?"

"Never mind. Just keep… my legs at a… lower elevation than my… heart. Best we can do… until we get to… a hospital…"

"Legs below the heart. Copy that."

"Good to know. Now, we need to… get moving… because it's only a matter of time before… those guys… call for back up and then we'll… really be screwed!"

"Right. Because we're not screwed already? Relax. Don't give me the constipated face, okay? Because they're not going to be calling for back up," he declared. Steve just raised an eyebrow in silent question as he stoically endured yet another surge of pain. "But we did," Danny continued, picking the satellite phone up from the ground behind him.

This earned Danny an all-out smile from the ex-SEAL.

"What? You thought all I was grabbing from the site was water and food?" Danny returned Steve's smile, just as the phone chirped at him.

H50H50H50H50H50

A few minutes later, Danny disconnected the call and made reluctant eye contact with Steve.

"I see what you mean by… 'constipated face'," McGarrett told him.

"Funny. Yeah, remind me to laugh about that later."

"So, what did... Chin say? Or are you going to force me… to fill in the blanks… based on your end… of the conversation?"

"He said he'll send a medi-vac asap and have a clinical toxicologist waiting for you at the emergency room…"

"What… are you not telling me here… Danno?"

Danny released a frustrated sigh, then: "There's a huge tropical storm hitting the island," he confessed, once again looking up at the foreboding clouds overhead. "The medi-vac won't be able to lift off until it passes. We need to find shelter. Fast." He eyed McGarrett critically, concern again filling his gaze.

"I'll just slow you down. Leave me here."

"What? Are you crazy? I'm not leaving you here alone. You're liable to go off half cocked and sacrifice yourself for your country, or whatever it is that you SEAL's do when you're in the mood to do something crazy."

"Wouldn't be for my country, Danny," Steve corrected softly.

Danny wasn't surprised by the thought, so much as the words themselves. "See?" he said, stooping down to place his hand on his partner's forehead. "You're definitely not yourself. The Steve I know would never allow himself to say something sappy like that."

"Danny -" Steve tried to pull away from his partner's invasive touch but the tree behind him blocked his movement, giving him a headache instead of granting his escape.

"No, McGarrett. I am not going to find shelter on my own. Besides, whatever happened to 'leave no man behind'? Isn't that your creed, or something?"

"Sometimes… you have to break that rule… in order to survive."

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm not leaving you. That's final. End of discussion."

Something flashed in Steve's eyes but before Danny could even begin to read it, it was gone. The sounds of crushing brush grabbed their attention, forcing them back to the reality that they were not in this forest alone.

Steve extended his hand to Danny once again. "Help me up," he insisted. "I'm not seeing… any other option here... Danny."

With a sigh, but understanding the gravity of the situation, Danny grasped Steve's outstretched hand. "Of course, you don't," he said, as he hauled McGarrett to his feet.

When Steve paled drastically at the movement and fell forward against him, Danny shook his head in frustration. Apparently, his intent was clear in his eyes because Steve glared at him. "You wouldn't dare!"

"To be honest, whenever I played Truth or Dare as a kid, I always picked Dare," Danny replied with a grin. And, without another word, he leaned down and draped a mortified McGarrett over his shoulders.

"What are you -? Danny, put me down!"

Danny grunted with the added weight, then: "I don't think I've ever heard you splutter before, McGarrett."

"Danny… I'm warning you -!"

"Oh, please. Right now, you couldn't harm a mosquito - another thing I hate about Hawaii, by the way. Friggin' things are everywhere." Despite his light hearted comment, he knew this vulnerable position would be killing Steve but it was also saving his life, and Danny would choose that over Steve's pride any day. "Just stop whining and enjoy the free ride, McGarrett."

Before Danny took another step, the torrential downpour began and the winds picked up speed.

TBC

_A/N Reviews? Please? Your reviews really are my inspiration to write faster! *grin*_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N First off all, thank you all **so much **for all of your support, thoughts, and prayers! It really meant a lot to me and helped me through this difficult time. Secondly, I finally sat down and put all my notes together for this chapter - I hope it lives up to all of your expectations! *hopeful smile* Any errors are solely mine, but I hope there aren't too many. Thanks again for sticking with me through this story. I will try to have it complete before the next new episode airs on January 4th! _

_I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and holiday, and I wish you all the best in 2011! Hugs! ~Kelcor_

By the time he finally found some shelter, his legs were seconds away from giving out on him completely. And, despite the torrential rain that had been soaking the two Five-0 agents for the past 30 minutes, his shoulder blades felt like they were on fire! It wasn't until he laid Steve gently down on the floor of the cave that he realized Steve was the one who was on fire… his fever was raging!

Wanting to help his partner but knowing that he had to see to a few other things first, Danny gently hauled a barely conscious Steve over to the nearest wall and sat him up against it, remembering his partner's warning to keep his heart above the wound at all times. After holding a bottle of water up to the wounded man's lips and ensuring at least some of the liquid made it into his mouth to hopefully help with the fever, Danny gave Steve's shoulder a squeeze. "I'll be right back, partner. Just sit tight, okay?"

With one final glance, Danny returned to the tropical storm outside and, praying that he'd be able to find his way back, he continued on in the direction he had been heading before dropping Steve off at the cave. He stomped through the brush causing as much damage to the branches as he possibly could. Once he finally found the perfect spot, he reached into the satchel and set to work…

H50H50H50H50

Out of breath and exhausted, Danny finally made it back to the cave and went inside, ducking his head at the entrance to avoid any further injuries to his now thoroughly scratched face. The interior of the cave was darker than when he had left so it took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust. The cave was empty. Steve was gone! He panicked for a moment before hearing the ragged breathing! Stepping further into the cave, Danny followed the panting sound… and found Steve hunkered in a darkened corner, coiled for attack. He squatted down in front of his wounded friend.

"McGarrett? You okay, partner? What're you doin' way over here?"

"Henderson, are you crazy? Get down," Steve hissed.

Confused, Danny glanced back toward the opening to the cave, searching for the mysterious Henderson. Steve reached out, grabbed his wrist and yanked him forward and down, bringing Danny to his knees and close enough to feel the extreme heat coming off McGarrett. "Darn it, McGarrett! Your fever is even worse than before! When is this freakin' storm going to end, anyway? We need to get you to a hospital!"

Steve looked at him like he had three heads. "What is wrong with you? We can't leave in the middle of a mission! We just have to hold 'em off until the Commander gets here - " Suddenly, Steve's head jerked to the side, as if he'd heard something.

Once again, Danny looked around and saw nothing. He turned back to Steve, his concern escalating exponentially. "Steve, tell me what's happening!"

Again with the look but this time Steve added a raised eyebrow. "Calling your commanding officer by his first name, Henderson? That's not like you."

Deciding it best to play along, Danny backtracked. "Sorry, uh, sir. It, uh, must be the stress."

A small one sided smile quirked at Steve's lips. "Things did get a little hairy for a while there, didn't they? Listen, don't worry about it… just don't let it happen again."

"Yes, sir. Uh, could you refresh my memory on this mission… sir?"

Steve's attention returned to their surroundings but his eyes flicked to Danny for a split second. "We're here to rescue the Rear Admiral's daughter. What's wrong with you?"

"Uh, nothing, just wanted to make sure I knew the game plan is all."

Suspicious, Steve said slowly, "Well, now you know. Can we get back to the recon now?"

Before Danny could respond, Steve's eyes rolled back and he fell forward. Danny reached out at the last second, catching his partner and pulling him toward him. Holding him close, Danny placed his hand against Steve's forehead, pushing the matted hair back. Despite the raging fever, Steve was now shivering.

"Ah, crap! Anything else you wanna throw at me now, McGarrett?"

H50H50H50H50H50

_The Venezuelan jungle was hot and humid. And the local insects seemed to consider this to be SEAL season. Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett was laying in some foliage, Lieutenant John Henderson lay next to him. Each held his rifle at the ready but McGarrett also had night vision binocs aimed at the small village below them._

_His team consisted of just himself and Henderson for this particular mission - keeping a low profile was the priority. The Rear Admiral's ten-year-old daughter had been kidnapped and was being held for ransom, which happened to be the release of Central America's largest kingpin. It was common knowledge that the United States government doesn't deal with terrorists but apparently these particular guys thought that if it involved a ten-year-old child, the rules would change. And they did… just not in the kidnapper's favour. _

"_Bring that little girl back at any cost, McGarrett." _

_Those were his orders. Plain and simple. _

_As he peered through the binocs, McGarrett saw little in the way of guards. Henderson, who had looked at the same thing just moments before, whispered, "Should be a simple snatch 'n grab."_

_McGarrett pulled the binoculars away from his face long enough to cast a wary glance at the Lieutenant. "Nothing about this is going to be simple, Henderson. It never is. 'The only easy day was yesterday'. Always remember that."_

"_But there's no one down there. Just the villagers. Unarmed villagers." He made a move to get up. "Come on. Let's get this done, already."_

_McGarrett yanked him back down to the ground. "No." At a look of annoyance from Henderson, he explained. "It just doesn't feel right. We need to do a bit more recon. Then we move."_

"_Meanwhile, that little girl could be killed, or worse."_

_Ignoring him, McGarrett returned his attention to the village below, binocs pressed up against his eyes once again._

"_You know," Henderson began, "I actually __wanted__ to work with you. I sought out this assignment." He paused a moment, then: "Wish someone had told me back then that you're a coward."_

_McGarrett grit his teeth. Now was not the time to knock the guy's lights out. Later. But not now. He cursed when Henderson rolled away from their cover and began crawling toward the path that led to the village. "Henderson," he whispered angrily. "Get your ass back here!"_

_H50H50H50H50_

Danny was sitting against the wall with his partner leaned up against him, back to chest, doing his best to keep him warm. His arms were wrapped around his chest, despite the fact that Steve's shivers were making him very difficult to keep a grip on. The shivering was so bad, in fact, that it took a moment for Danny to notice that they had graduated into full on convulsions!

Instantly, he gently laid Steve out on the floor of the cave, moved any rocks out of his reach and waited out the convulsion. It seemed to take forever but within moments the seizure had passed. Once again, Danny began to gather his injured friend up against him to provide warmth and, he hoped, a little comfort, when Steve suddenly curled in on himself in pain. Before Danny knew what was happening, Steve was vomiting.

Knowing there was not much else he could do, Danny banded one arm across his partner's chest and braced his forehead with his other hand, keeping him from face planting in his own vomit. He cringed at both the violence of the purging and the barely audible whimpers coming out of his usually unflappable ex-SEAL partner and friend.

The vomiting finally stopped but, unfortunately, the whimpers continued. Part of Danny was glad that Steve was too out of it to realize how vulnerable he was right now, as he gently gathered the Lieutenant Commander up against his chest once again, this time with Steve curled into a tight ball, his shoulder braced against Danny's chest. As he tried to breathe through the pain, Steve unconsciously pressed his cheek into the crook of Danny's elbow, grabbed a handful of Danny's shirt in his fist.

It felt weird but the only person Danny had ever held like this was Gracie, so the only thing he knew to do for comfort was to smooth out Steve's hair and rock him back and forth. Oddly enough, it seemed to help as McGarrett's breathing became less and less ragged until he eased into a fitful sleep.

Danny had no idea how long they stayed like that but, at some point, the sun had gone down and come back up again, the rain had stopped… and their pursuers had found their little hideout!

TBC

_A/N Please review? I need to know if I'm still keeping with the characters... extreme h/c scenes notwithstanding, of course! LoL ~Kelcor_


	5. Chapter 5

A/N This is long overdue, so I thank you for your patience! All grammatical/spelling errors are mine. Please let me know if you come across any and I will make the appropriate corrections. In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy this latest installment. Any mysteries will become clear in the next chapter! ~Kelcor

_McGarrett watched as Henderson recklessly crawled through the bush, propelling himself with both elbows and knees. Steve glanced toward the village several yards away and knew that, at any moment, they were going to hear the commotion coming from the trees. With a grunt of anger, the Lieutenant Commander took off after Henderson, silently promising to kill the kid himself if the enemy soldiers didn't do it for him. And, if his stupid actions caused the death of the Rear Admiral's little girl? Well, then, death would be too easy for the idiot. Reining in his anger - a little bit - Steve knew he wouldn't actually kill Henderson… or torture him… but, wow, did he ever want to right now!_

_As he neared Henderson's position, he heard the younger man cry out in pain. Forgetting his anger completely, Steve switched directly to SEAL mode and moved in to protect his own. When he arrived, however, he was more than a little surprised to find Henderson alone, writhing on the ground. After a quick scrutiny of the area, McGarrett crawled over to his fallen comrade. He halted his approach as soon as he heard the hissing and the… rattle?_

_A foot or so away from Henderson, a large rattlesnake was guarding its young. Apparently, in his mindless charge toward the village, the Lieutenant had pushed himself through a nest of rattlers - and had been bitten for his intrusion. _

_McGarrett stared at the snake, who seemed to be eyeing him right back. After a brief test of wills, the snake thought better of the confrontation and backed down, returning to its young and, effectively, ignoring the two SEAL's._

_A moment later, Steve was at Henderson's side. "You stupid, stupid - "_

"_Okay, okay. I get it. I'm sorry, all right?"_

"_No, Henderson. You know what? It's not all right! You just jeopardized our mission and probably sacrificed a ten-year-old little girl in the process!"_

_Henderson reached up a hand. "Okay. You can read me the riot act later, okay? For now, can we please get outta here?"_

_Shaking his head, Steve hauled Henderson to his feet and draped one of the younger man's arms across his shoulders. They turned to go back the way they had come… and came face to face with several armed villagers, guns aimed straight at the heads of the two SEAL's. _

H50H50H50H50

Danny watched the booted feet standing on the other side of the camouflage he had set up to hide the mouth of the cave. Upon close inspection, the large leaves and branches wouldn't do much to conceal their little hiding place. He slowly reached for the machine gun lying on the ground at his hip, keeping one arm wrapped securely around the still shivering and twitching McGarrett.

He sighed with relief when the feet stomped off in the direction that he himself had taken the night before. He released McGarrett and, after ensuring that his partner wasn't going to topple over onto his side without support, Danny moved quietly to the mouth of the cave. He peeked between the large leaves - the likes of which he would never find anywhere on the mainland, let alone in New Jersey - and watched the thugs move away from the cave.

"That's right, follow the trail, follow it all the way to the end," Danny muttered. Not wasting another minute, he set the gun down and grabbed the satellite phone out of the satchel once again. Keeping an eye on the thugs, he dialled Five-0 Headquarters.

H50H50H50H50

_Two soldiers dragged a badly beaten and barely conscious Steve McGarrett down a long corridor of sorts. The Lieutenant Commander could feel the dirt and pebbles beneath his feet and legs. He could smell the musky earth and vegetation all around him. Underground. Perfect. That's just perfect._

_They tossed him into a cell, then shut and locked the door. Steve remained where he was, curled up on the floor in the centre of the cell, arms curled around his possibly broken ribs, knees pulled to his chest. He tried to breathe through the pain, knowing full well that he wouldn't have much time to recuperate before having to break out of here and find the little girl… and Henderson. _

"_Steve? Come on, baby. It's time to wake up."_

_Unable to believe his ears, McGarrett lifted his head and was more than a little shocked to see the dark haired beauty staring down at him, her blue eyes filled with love and concern. "Mom?"_

"_Yes, sweetie. It's me. You have to save her. You need to get up."_

"_But… you're dead. You died in the accident…" his voice trailed off as a horrible thought entered his mind. He didn't know how he knew it to be true, but he did. "No. You were murdered. Who killed you, mom?"_

"_That's not important, right now," she said softly, tears streaming down her face as she cupped the side of his face in her hand. "You need to get up, baby. You need to save her…" _

_Steve felt the panic rise in him as her form began to dissipate. "Mom! No, don't leave me! Please! Don't go!" Even as the words were torn from his very soul, his mother disappeared, leaving McGarrett alone once again._

H50H50H50H50

Danny continued to watch as the thugs followed the trail that he had created for them the night before, even as he kept an eye out for the helicopter that should be arriving with back up any minute. A cry from behind him startled him from his surveillance.

"Mom! No, don't leave me! Please! Don't go!"

With a final glance outside, praying that their pursuers had not heard his partner's outburst, Danny quickly made his way over to McGarrett's side. Steve looked up at his approach…

"Dad?"

Danny froze. Steve's condition had just taken a giant leap from horribly bad to worse! _Come on, Chin! Hurry up! We're running out of time, here!_

H50H50H50H50

_Steve watched as his father lifted him slightly to lean against the wall, then crouched down in front of him and gripped the back of his neck with one hand. _

"_I'm so sorry," Steve confessed, his eyes filling with shame._

_John McGarrett gave his son's neck a firm squeeze. "Sorry for what?"_

"_I wasn't able to save you!"_

"_You have __nothing__ to be sorry for, Steve!" He cupped the side of Steve's face with one hand, forcing eye contact. "You hear me? Nothing!"_

_Steve had a flash of a Hawaiian detective telling him that his mother's death wasn't an accident. That his father knew and had been investigating the case for years. He wasn't at all sure how he knew the detective but he did. Steve stubbornly set his jaw against the tears, refusing to let them fall. "Dad, why didn't you tell me? About mom. I had a right to know."_

"_I didn't even know for sure myself until more than a year after her death, Steve. And, from the moment I figured it out, my heart filled with this insurmountable hatred for the men that killed her and an undeniable need for revenge! I didn't want that for you and Mary, Sport. You're my children! I wanted to protect you!"_

_The exhaustion coupled with both the physical and emotional pain became too much for the SEAL. He was no longer able to stop the tears from overflowing. John pulled his son against him and wrapped his arms firmly around his back. _

"_Just promise me one thing, okay, Sport? Promise me, you won't make the same mistakes I made. Promise me, you won't cut yourself off from everyone who cares about you. Let them help you, okay? Can you promise me that?" When Steve nodded mutely in agreement, he felt his father's lips brush against his temple, then heard the whispered plea… "You have to save her, Steve. You're the only one who can."… then he was alone once again._

_Taking a deep fortifying breath, Steve forced himself to his feet and moved for the door._

H50H50H50H50

Danny wasn't afraid to admit, at least to himself, that Steve's condition was scaring him. He also admitted - to himself - that Grace wasn't the only one who would be upset about losing the ex-SEAL. At least the tears seemed to have stopped but the fever and hallucinations were getting worse.

"Awww, now ain't this cute?"

With Steve still cradled in his arms, Danny spun around to face the armed intruder. One of the thugs must have heard Steve's cries and sent someone back to investigate. Crap! Leaning his partner gently against the wall, Danny stood to face the guy who was almost twice his size. He warily eyed the gun still lying on the ground where he had left it, several feet away, next to the mouth of the cave. Moreover, the thug currently stood between him and the gun, anyway. Mentally chastising himself for being stupid enough to lower his guard like that, he nonetheless fisted his hands at his sides, and prepared to pull a Steve and recklessly launch himself at the sasquatch before him. Because he would not let anything more happen to his partner - enough was enough already!

H50H50H50H50

_Steve made his way down the tunnel, checking each room he passed for the little girl and Henderson. Two rooms down, he found Henderson, groaning and writhing in pain. When he approached him, the Lieutenant squirmed away from him in terror. He clearly didn't recognize his commanding officer and feared what he would do to him. _

_Upon closer inspection, the guy didn't seem to have been beaten like Steve had been. The only wound Steve was able to see was the snakebite. Apparently, the locals knew that to be better torture than anything they could do themselves. Steve did his best to calm Henderson down but he just wasn't listening, or maybe wasn't able to, depending on the severity of the hallucinations. Either way, his yells were going to attract the wrong kind of attention. Which, right now, was any attention at all!_

_McGarrett checked his watch - 0430. The chopper was supposed to meet them at the pre-designated spot at 0515. Allowing a half hour travel time, that left him with just 15 minutes to find the Rear Admiral's daughter. Heart heavy with guilt, Steve left Henderson behind and went in search of the girl._

_A few minutes later, he heard a scuffle coming from one of the other rooms. He peeked through the doorway and saw two men in hand-to-hand combat. The larger of the two clearly had the advantage but the shorter one was surprisingly holding his own. Then Steve noticed something rather odd… the shorter one was wearing a dress shirt. Though the shirt was torn in several places, he still seemed somewhat out of place in the middle of the Venezuelan jungle. _

"_Danny?" The name left his lips before he even had a chance to decipher what it meant. Did he know a Danny? Something in his heart told him he did. But he didn't know how. Regardless, the larger opponent now had Danny pinned to the ground. He elbowed him in the face, then got to his feet and aimed his gun at Steve's partner… Partner? Really? Without wasting another second, Steve dove for the knife lying on the ground a few feet away and hurled it through the air. He watched with grim satisfaction as it embedded itself between the huge man's shoulder blades!_

H50H50H50H50

Danny watched the mammoth-sized goon fall to his death with a knife in his back. As he fell, Steve came into view behind him. Danny stared in confusion at the still shivering form of his partner, leaning against the wall.

"Danny?" It was both whispered plea and warning.

Danny leaped to his feet and lunged for Steve just as his eyes rolled back into his head and he sank to the ground. Wrapping his arms around his partner's waist and chest, he was at least able to slow the descent and cushion the fall. The heat was still coming off Steve in waves as Danny held him close.

"Super Seal to the rescue once again," Danny muttered sincerely, not surprised when there was no response from his partner.

A moment later, the sounds of a chopper filled the air…

TBC

A/N Thanks for reading! Please Review? And, amblue36? I will use one or both of your wonderful suggestions in the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! This little plot bunny was suggested by amblue36. I hope I did her idea justice! ~Kelcor_

As promised, the best toxicologist in the country had been waiting for them when they arrived at the hospital, thanks to Governor Jameson, who was also anxiously awaiting their arrival. A comfortable chair - with cushions, no less - had been set up in Steve's private room, thanks to Chin and Kono because, as they had predicted, Detective Danny Williams had all out refused to leave his partner's side.

The doctors were confident of a full recovery, despite the touch 'n go aspect of the case little more than 24 hours ago when Steve had first been admitted to the hospital. They did warn of the possibility of complications, however, and the knowledge that their team leader wasn't out of the woods yet set off warning bells for the Five-0 team. Their boss didn't seem to be the best at avoiding 'worst case scenarios'.

Now, as Steve slept restlessly in his bed, Danny dozed in the way too comfy chair, being sure to keep an ear out for any further distress from McGarrett. Once the anti-venom had been administered, the hallucinations had occurred less and less frequently until, finally, they stopped altogether. Unfortunately, Steve's memories now simply made themselves known in his sleep, causing seemingly horrible nightmares. What bothered Danny the most was the fact that Steve had yet to wake up, which meant that he was essentially trapped in his nightmare world of memories that, judging by the taste Danny had gotten in the cave, was a torture all its own.

One thing that put his mind somewhat at ease was the fact that the arms dealers had been picked out of the MacGyver-esque trap Danny had set for them - using some of their own camouflage tarps which Danny had procured from their little campsite. He smiled to himself at the thought of the tattooed-thugs all squished together in a tarp, hanging from a large tree, waiting for rescue from the very people that wanted nothing more than to throw them in jail.

Danny was brought out of his musings by a groan from Steve. He instantly placed his hand on his partner's arm as this had calmed him in his previous nightmares since arriving at the hospital. It didn't work this time, though. In fact, McGarrett just seemed to get worse. Still asleep, he started fighting some unseen assailant and, when Danny tried to hold him down, he just fought even harder.

"Steve," Danny yelled. No response. "Steve!" Nothing. "McGarrett!" Finally, Steve stopped thrashing around and his eyes popped open. Danny sighed with relief but kept a hold of his friend's arms, just in case. "You with me, partner?"

"Danny?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's me. You awake now? You gave us all quite a scare there, buddy," Danny admitted. When Steve didn't respond, he looked more closely at his friend. He seemed unable to focus on anything. Concussion, maybe? "You okay? What's wrong?"

"I - "

"What? What is it? You need me to get a doctor or something?"

McGarrett twisted his hand around to get a grip on Danny's forearm, nails digging into the skin, with more strength than would have been expected from someone recovering from the recent ordeal Steve had gone through. His next words more than explained the sudden adrenaline rush.

"I can't see… Danny, I can't see!"

H50H50H50H50

The doctor stood outside Steve's room with Danny, Chin and Kono as he explained Steve's condition to them.

"The blindness is most likely temporary -"

"Wait a minute," Danny interrupted. "'Most likely temporary'? You gotta be able to give us something more than that, doc!"

"I'm sorry, I can't. Temporary blindness is not uncommon with rattlesnake bites. Still, there are no guarantees in a situation like this. Perhaps if he had been taken to the hospital sooner, given the anti-venom closer to the time of the actual bite… but, as it stands right now, only time will tell. I'm sorry."

Guilt at the doctor's words swarmed through Danny's heart and soul. Logically, he knew he had done the best he could under the circumstances but he couldn't get rid of the nagging doubt that if he had tried harder, he would have been able to get Steve to the hospital sooner. He was even more sure that, had their roles been reversed, Steve would have done a much better job at getting Danny the help he needed.

Chin wrapped an arm around a near tearful Kono's shoulders. Though she was doing her best to keep her composure, her concern for McGarrett was clear and Chin was doing his best to offer his cousin whatever comfort he could.

After giving Kono's arm a supportive squeeze, Danny turned to the doctor. "Can we see him?"

"Sure, but only one at a time. He's got a lot to process, right now."

Danny turned to his team with a silent question in his eyes.

"You go ahead," Kono told him. "I'm not going to be much good to him like this."

"Yeah," Chin agreed. "Go on. You're the one he needs right now, anyway. I'll stay here with Kono."

"Thanks, guys," Danny said as he turned and stepped toward Steve's room.

H50H50H50H50

When Danny entered the room, he was shocked to find his partner out of bed, limping around, hands stretched out in front of him, as if looking for something. When he tripped over the dinner cart a couple feet away from the bed, Danny lunged forward and caught him before his knees hit the floor.

With a curse, Steve shoved Danny away. "Get off me!" He took a step backward and, when he came into contact with the cart once again, he gave it an even harder shove, sending it flying across the room. It fell to the floor with a crash!

"Whoa! Steve, just calm down! Tell me what's wrong!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Danny wished he did have the internal editing button Steve had mentioned so many times.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Steve's voice reached a new crescendo, causing Danny to wince slightly at the volume. He really hoped no one in the next three city blocks was trying to sleep right now because, yeah, good luck with that!

"Look, Steve, I'm sorry -"

"I'll tell you what's wrong! I can't SEE!" He pointed to his eyes for emphasis but Danny also saw the terror and pain hidden beneath the anger.

"It's just temporary."

"You don't know that! The doctors don't even know that!"

Danny sighed inwardly. Whatever happened to doctors keeping a patient's hopes up? "Okay, you're right, okay? You're right. They don't know for sure. But you're the strongest guy I know and if anyone can beat this, you can!"

Steve's eyes filled with tears as he shook his head in denial. "Not this, Danny. Not this. What am I going to do? What am I -?" His voice broke and he tried to turn away from his partner but banged his knee on the bed frame in the process.

Rushing forward, Danny gripped Steve by the elbow and wrapped his other arm around the shaking shoulders. He checked and was relieved to see there were no tears. He wasn't sure he could handle those right now, and he knew darn well that Steve wouldn't be able to deal with the mortification of crying in his partner's arms on top of everything else. Back in the cave, McGarrett had been so out of it, he most likely wouldn't remember the touchy-feely moments. Right now, though? There would be no plausible deniability, no way to explain it away as just a dream - or nightmare, depending on how you looked at it. For Steve, nightmare would definitely be the descriptive word of choice.

With a sigh, Danny led him back to the bed. "I don't know, man, but we'll figure it out, okay? You and me, we'll figure this out. I promise you, okay? But, for now, let's get you back into bed. Where were you trying to go, anyway?"

"Home," was the mumbled, miserable reply.

"You can't go home, Steve. They need to keep you here for observation."

"To observe what, exactly," Steve asked, helping as much as he could as Danny tried to get him up onto the bed again. "Whether or not my sight returns? I can call to tell them I can see again. And, hey, if it doesn't come back, maybe I can drive over to tell them and some other driver can put me out of my misery!"

"Don't even joke about that," Danny said, a little louder than he'd intended. He knew Steve was just using his dark sense of humour as a way of dealing but, after almost losing his partner so many times in that cave, he just wasn't in the mood for it.

Steve seemed to pick up on that. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"For what? Knocking over the dinner cart?" Danny snarked. The past 24-hours had been emotional enough for the both of them. Avoidance of all things sentimental was key right now. "You know what they say about hospital food. I'm sure it'll pick itself up and jump back into the dishes before the janitor even hears about the mess!"

Apparently, Steve wasn't in the mood for his humour, either. Not even a quirk of the lips. He just grabbed Danny's shirt and looked pleadingly up at the spot where he figured he'd be able to make eye contact. "Please, Danny, please! I just wanna go home!"

Danny shook his head. How was he supposed to say no to that? He didn't even know 'puppy dog eyes' were in Steve's repertoire but there they were, pain-filled and pleading!

H50H50H50H50

After getting Steve home - released AMA, of course - Danny had hoped his partner's mood would improve but, if anything, he seemed even more depressed than ever. Danny could only assume it was because, at home, McGarrett was reminded even more of the specific things he couldn't see… family photos, for instance. After his ordeal in the cave, Danny was pretty sure family was the foremost thing on the SEAL's mind right now.

It was late, so he got Steve upstairs to his bedroom and set a t-shirt and pyjama bottoms out on the bed for him. Danny then stood back for an awkward moment. "Um, do you, uh, need any - " His offer of assistance was (thankfully!) cut off by the only slightly misdirected glare from Steve, aimed a bit over Danny's left shoulder but just as potent. "Right," Danny amended. "I'm gonna… go, now. If you need anything, I'll, uh, I'll be -"

"In the next room, Danny, I know," Steve said with little to no inflection in his voice. Even the glare was gone and Danny missed it because that was his only link to the Steve he had come to call friend - maybe even best friend, though not out loud - over the past few months.

As he turned to leave, Danny slid Steve's cell phone off the nightstand and slipped it into his pocket. He had to make a call and the number he needed to call was in his office… and on Steve's contact list.

TBC

_A/N Okay, so, Danny is going to call Catherine... but I can't decide if I should have her come over to help Steve deal or if I should have her say she's off in the Gulf somewhere and can't get leave... leaving Danny to deliver some more h/c for our wonderful and heroic - and tortured - SEAL. Any votes on which direction I should take it?_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N Okay, peeps! You said you wanted even more Steve hurt/comfort, you got it! You said you wanted Danny to be the one to provide the comfort, you got it! I just hope you **enjoy** it! Let me know what you think! Funny how this started out as a one or two shot... and we are now on Chapter Seven! LoL I'm actually kind of happy with this one. But, what really matters is if you are! *hopeful smile* ~Kelcor_

At the last minute, Danny remembered Steve's prescription pain killers in the car. He ran out to retrieve them, grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen, and then headed back upstairs to Steve's bedroom. As he entered, he was momentarily surprised to find his partner lying in bed with the lights still on, but then he wouldn't really need to turn them out, now would he? He shook his head, trying once again to wrap his head around the fact that McGarrett was blind - possibly permanently so. Mentally kicking himself for allowing that negative thought to even enter his mind, Danny slowly approached his partner.

Steve was curled up on the bed, facing away from the door. Suddenly unsure, Danny stopped a foot or two away from the nearest side of the bed. Then, with newfound determination, he stalked around to the other side to face McGarrett. Unfortunately, the other man had his eyes closed, clearly feigning sleep. Deciding to take on Steve's own mantra, Danny opted for some tough love.

"Okay, sleeping beauty, you can stop pretending." No response. "Come on, McGarrett. You need to take your medication, then you can fake being asleep all you want."

"Just leave it on the nightstand," was the mumbled reply.

"Uh-uh, no can do, partner! I promised your doctor I would make sure you actually take the medicine, so up 'n at 'em!" Taking the bull by the horns, so to speak, Danny gripped Steve by the elbow and hauled him up into a sitting position, which earned him a glare from the SEAL. Even so, Steve remained slouched against the headboard and held out his hand expectantly.

Danny put two pills into the waiting palm, placed the glass of water into Steve's other hand, then crossed his arms over his chest and watched until his partner washed the pills down. Huh. Who knew the SEAL glare could get so murderous. Oh, wait, that's right, everyone who had ever encountered a cranky Steve knew all too well. Still, Danny couldn't help but smile at the sign that his friend was still in there somewhere.

Danny waited until Steve resituated himself under the covers, then turned to leave. He reached for the light switch… but stopped before turning it off. Deciding that if Steve needed him, it'd be best if he didn't trip over his own feet in his haste to get to him, Danny left the light on.

H50H50H50H50

Once downstairs, Danny pulled out Steve's cell phone and scrolled through the contacts. He found Catherine's number. His finger hovered over the call button as he fought with the certainty that Steve would not want her to know about his current condition. Knowing that he just couldn't help his partner on his own, knowing that Catherine could be the only one who could get through to him, Danny touched the screen and, with one final hesitation, put the phone to his ear.

Catherine answered the call after the second ring. "Hey, you! It's been a while. When are we going to have a repeat performance of our beach date?"

"Uh, Catherine? It's Danny."

"Danny? Oh, sorry about that… wait a minute. Why are you calling me from Steve's phone? What happened? Is Steve okay?"

"Well, yes and no, I guess," Danny replied, then proceeded to tell her everything that had transpired over the previous couple of days.

When he finished, there was a long pause on her end, then: "Oh, poor Steve. What can I do to help?"

"Well, if you could come to Hawaii, that would just be awesome."

"Definitely. I'll find some way to score some leave, but I won't be able to make for at least a week."

Danny ran a hand through his hair. "Can't you make it sooner? He's falling deeper and deeper into this… funk and I don't know how to help him!"

"What do you mean, you don't know how to help him? You helped him in that cave. If it wasn't for you, he'd be dead right now."

"That was just some emergency first aid - most of which was done wrong, by the way - to keep him alive. This other stuff? This depression? I don't know the first thing -"

Catherine cut him off with an exasperated sigh. "Do you really expect me to believe that all you did was first aid for the first 24 hours? I've seen the effects of a rattlesnake bite, Danny, I know there is more to it than just physical pain."

"That was different. We were running for our lives. Desperate times called for desperate measures."

"And you think these aren't desperate times?"

"He won't talk to me, Catherine. I've tried, believe me, I've tried. But he just wants to be left alone."

"I don't believe you."

Danny hesitated, slightly flustered now. "What?"

"You asked me to believe you and I'm telling you, I don't." Realizing that Danny was at a loss for words, and wanting to explain herself before he hung up, Catherine continued. "Listen, I know you care for Steve and, trust me, the feeling's mutual, but you both have this friggin' pride that keeps you from telling each other how you feel. I'm not blaming you. It's a male thing. It's in your DNA. You can't help it."

This time, it was Danny's turn to sigh. "And your point?"

"My point is this. Steve tells you that he just wants to be left alone... that's his pride talking. I love the guy but it's true. You, Detective Williams, are desperate to believe him because otherwise you would have to step out of your self imposed boundaries to give him what he really needs. And why is that? That's right. Pride. Steve is too close to the edge right now, too close to the breaking point, to risk letting go and accepting your help. So, my question for you is, are you willing to risk losing the Steve we both love because of some stupid male narcissistic tendencies forced upon you by society?"

"Wow. You like those big words, don't you!" He paused for a moment, deep in thought, then pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, knowing he was not going to like the answer to his next question. "Fine. What do I have to do?"

"What Steve wants and what he needs are two totally different things. You have to force him to accept what he needs... no matter what it does to your _pride_. Because, if you don't, Steve will never come back to us. And that's just not acceptable."

"And if super SEAL breaks every bone in my body while I try to do this? Then what?"

"Then... I'll be there in a week to put both Humpty Dumpties back together again."

"Ha ha. Now, I see why you and McGarrett get along so well. Bye, Catherine."

"Bye. And Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"Steve has told me how many times you have saved his life. Do it again, okay? Because, when you do, you'll be saving my life, too."

Danny couldn't help but hear the tears in her voice, then she hung up without another word. But, truthfully, no more words were needed. She got her point across loud and clear. The only question was, could Danny really do it? Without the threat of life or death, could he give Steve what he truly needed?

H50H50H50H50

_The room was dark. But it was more than that. It was pitch black. No light coming from anywhere. Then he remembered. "Blind. I'm blind." He felt himself sinking into despair but three words brought him back... "Steve! Save me!" At first he couldn't place the voice. Then, he realized, it wasn't just one voice. It was a combination of two, maybe three, voices all speaking simultaneously. "Steve! Save me!" _

_Suddenly, a bright light was switched on. It was like his vision had been restored but at a higher power. The colours were brighter. The textures sharper. Even the dimensions were more distinct. A second later, he wished he was blind again._

_There, just a few feet away, was Hesse with gun aimed and ready. Steve couldn't see the person he was aiming at but he knew. He KNEW. A second light was switched on, brighter than the first. His dad was sitting in a chair, bound hand and feet. Blood from multiple beatings was streaming down his face. At first he didn't seem to notice his son but then he turned and looked him straight in the eye. "Steve! Save me!" _

_Steve had no idea why he was being given this second chance but he grabbed it with all his might and charged toward Hesse... only he wasn't getting closer. His legs were pumping, his heart was pounding, his breath was coming out in sharp bursts, but he wasn't. getting. closer. He tried harder but Hesse just looked at him with this manic grin on his face... and pulled the trigger. BANG!_

"_NOOOOO!" Steve was able to do nothing but watch as his father was killed right before his eyes. _

_He fought the tears because that's what he was trained to do._

_Then his father's body morphed into that of his mother. Alive and well. But bound to the chair just as his father had been. She, too, looked directly at Steve. "Steve! Save me!"_

_This time, Steve tried to launch himself at Hesse, he flew through the air, arms outstretched for a full on tackle... and grabbed empty air. He landed on his stomach, no closer than he was when his feet first left the floor. BANG!_

"_NOOOOO!" _

_He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth to keep the tears from falling. "If you break during battle, soldier, you'll never be able to save __anyone__!"_

_When he opened his eyes again, his heart hammered against his ribs with an all new ferocity - his mother was nothing more than a scorched and charred corpse! _

_Then, the blackened corpse morphed into Mary! His little sister was bound to the chair. Her face was bruised. Blood was seeping from a cut on her forehead. She turned pleading eyes to him, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Steve. Please, save me!"_

_Adrenaline rushing, Steve once again tried launching himself at Hesse. Like some kind of torturous game, he once again fell well short of his target, no closer than before. BANG!_

_His father... BANG! His mother... BANG! His sister... BANG! His mother... BANG! His mother... BANG! His mother... BANG! His mother..._

"_NOOOOOOO! NOOOOOO! NOOOOOO!"_

H50H50H50H50

Danny woke to the strangled cries coming from the room next door. Disoriented at first, he still had presence of mind to grab his gun from the nightstand - anyone screaming like that was surely about to be killed! He ran out into the hallway. Finally, remembering where he was, he made a beeline for Steve's room.

He barrelled through the doorway, coming in low, ready to shoot whoever was attacking his partner... only to find that said partner was alone in the room, screaming and thrashing in his bed. Danny froze. Even in the cave, under the influence of the rattlesnake bite; in the hospital, drugged to the gills with painkillers and anti-venom; Steve had never gotten this bad!

Snapping out of his shock, Danny ran to the other side of the bed and sat next to Steve. He grabbed him by the upper arms and shook him. "Steve! Wake up! Steve!" Then he remembered how he had gotten through to him in the hospital. "MCGARRETT!"

As before, the blue eyes popped open but it was as if he was still locked in the nightmare. After a moment, Danny realized, to Steve's unseeing eyes, he was probably still asleep.

"McGarrett! It's okay now. You're awake. It was just a dream, partner. It was just a dream."

"No!" Steve struggled against Danny's grasp. "Let me go! No!"

"Steve! It's me! It's Danny! You're okay! I promise you, you're okay!"

Suddenly, Steve almost seemed to make eye contact with his partner and the pain and devastation Danny saw there was more than the detective could take.

"They killed her, Danny! They killed her!"

Even without being told, Danny knew exactly who 'she' was. Steve's voice broke as he fought to hold back the tears. And that right there? That sealed the deal for Danny. Shoving aside his own fears of crossing emotional boundaries, he pulled Steve into a rough hug. His partner fought ferociously to get free but his medicated state had weakened him physically, as well as emotionally, and Danny was able to overpower him easily.

It didn't stop Steve from struggling, though. "Get off me, Danny!" Even as the sobs tore through his body, he fought tooth and nail to free himself. But Danny just held on and rode out the storm. Now, more than ever, he knew that Catherine was right. This is what Steve needed. Whether the super SEAL was willing to admit it or not.

Steve continued to try to push Danny away, to extricate himself from his partner's hold.

Still... Danny held on.

"Please... Danno... Please..."

Finally, the dam broke and Steve began to shake uncontrollably in Danny's arms, clinging to him as he would a life preserver because, let's face it, at this moment? That's exactly what Danny was!

TBC

_A/N Your reviews mean more to me than you will ever know!_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N Hello, All! This chapter is more angsty than h/c but I'll try to add more of that in the next installment. Also, I would like to thank you for all the wonderful reviews! Special thanks to amblue36 and kimber1461 for sending me the pm's and encouraging me to continue! I apologize to all of you for the delay. I will try to get the next chapter up faster. For now, I hope you enjoy this one. ~Kelcor_

The next morning, consciousness came slowly for Steve McGarrett. Memories of the past few days didn't come back to him right away. Still in the blissful ignorance of sleep, all Steve knew was that he felt safe. The next thing he realized was that he was curled against something warm. He felt the rise and fall of a broad chest beneath his cheek, strong arms were wrapped around his shoulders and back. He flashed back to a time as a young boy, shortly after his mother had died, his father had held him as he slept, in an effort to ward off the nightmares he had been having every night since that fateful knock on their door. That had been the first full night's sleep he had gotten in weeks. The nightmares were few and far between after that... until last night...

With that, the onslaught of memories launched their attack! Running through the forest with Danny. A rattlesnake. Getting bitten by said rattlesnake! A vague memory of getting sick in a dark cave and having the same arms wrapped around him then as now. Doctors and nurses. Blindness! He was blind! Then he remembered the nightmare from the night before, seeing his family die over and over again, then sobbing in Danny's arms!

To say Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett was mortified would be an understatement! He could feel the flush rise to his cheeks - not just a flush of embarrassment, though. A flush of anger. Rage. Not towards Danny but towards himself, for being so weak, so vulnerable, so... **helpless** that he had needed his partner to hold him while he slept.

He moved carefully away from Danny. Trying his best not to wake his partner, Steve made his way to the other side of the bed and swung his legs over the edge. Barefoot, he stepped in the general direction of his bedroom door. Somewhere in the back of his mind, it struck him that he didn't even know if it was morning yet. Regardless, he had to get away, he had to distance himself from Danny. More importantly, he had to pull himself together, regain some composure... some pride.

That plan took a flying leap out the window, however, when Steve McGarrett, Super SEAL extraordinaire... stubbed his toe against the door. He yelped, more out of surprise than pain but, nevertheless, adding to his already bruised ego.

Danny instantly woke, in a panic, to say the least. He looked around the room and found his partner hunched over on the floor, holding his foot or his leg, the detective couldn't be sure. All he knew was that he had fallen asleep on the job. He was supposed to be protecting Steve, if for no other reason than to repay the SEAL for saving his life in the cave. Like a mother hen on steroids, Danny leapt across the bed and reached a hovering stance over his fallen partner in 0.2 seconds.

"Steve? Are you okay?" Curiously, the panic in his voice was still mixed with a lingering grogginess.

"I'm fine, Danny," Steve bit out.

"Are you sure? What happened? Come on, let's get you back to the bed so I can take a look," Danny offered, taking Steve by the arm and pulling him to his feet.

McGarrett yanked his arm out of his partner's grip, barely controlling the anger burning inside him, some of which was now indeed directed at Danny and his patronizing tone. "I said, I'm fine, Danny! I'm not a child! I just stubbed my toe for crying out loud!"

Instantly recognizing the animosity in Steve's voice, Danny backed off a step, hands held up in a placating manner. "Okay, okay. You don't have to take my head off. I was just trying to help."

"Well, I don't need your help."

At that moment, Steve's cell phone rang in Danny's pocket.

"Is that my...?" The ring tone was the one Steve had assigned to Catherine's number. He'd recognize that tone anywhere. He couldn't talk to her right now. He just... suddenly, something occurred to him. He cocked his head to one side and listened carefully.

Danny could almost see the gears clicking into place, switching Steve straight into SEAL-mode. Guiltily, he plucked the object from his pocket but it was too late, Super-SEAL had already guessed where the phone was based on its close proximity. "What are you doing with my cell phone?"

"I, uh, had to make a phone call?"

"Who, Danny? Who did you call?"

"I don't suppose you'd believe me if I told you Ghostbusters?"

"No, Danny, you're right, I wouldn't." The look on McGarrett's face, though aimed a little over Danny's shoulder, was enough to let the detective know that he wasn't getting out of this one.

"I'm sure Catherine is just calling to make sure you're okay," Danny tried.

"Why would she think otherwise?" Then: "You told her about... you told her what happened, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," Danny declared, his voice rising a bit with an anger of his own.

"Man, Danny, how could you?"

"You needed help and I was at a loss as to how to administer that help, so I thought -"

"Well, you thought wrong!"

"Why is it so difficult for you to admit that you need someone to help you?"

"Maybe it's just **you **that I don't want helping me, Danny! Ever think of that?"

The silence that enveloped the room could have been cut with a knife. Steve's eyes filled at the thought that he might have just damaged their friendship beyond repair this time. Still, he refused to let the tears fall. There'd been enough of that already.

Danny, his gaze having moved to the floor, didn't see the guilt and remorse on his partner's face. "Okay," he said, almost too quietly. "I'll, uh... I'll call Mary and have her come over."

Finally finding his voice again, Steve attempted at an apology, "Danny, I'm -"

"No, no. It's fine. Really. Just do me a favour and stay in this room until she gets here, okay? Can't have you falling down the stairs or something," he added, with some of his trademark snark embedded in the words - but not nearly enough.

Steve took a step toward his partner, wishing he could take back his words of anger but knowing that he couldn't. Unfortunately, Danny had already turned around and started for the door. "Bye, Steve."

McGarrett listened as Danny retreated down the stairs. He heard the front door open and close with an unmistakeable finality. Slipping his cell phone into the pocket of his pyjamas, he stepped backwards until the backs of his legs touched the bed, then collapsed onto the mattress. Placing his face in his hands, Steve cursed his own stupidity. He hadn't been angry with Danny, not really. Frustrated, yeah, but angry? No way. His partner had been nothing but patient and understanding during this crisis. And how had Steve repaid him? By yelling at him? Kicking him out of his home? Yeah, great friend you are, McGarrett! But, by far the worst part, was how he had just devalued the worth and importance of his best friend's presence in his life!

Now alone and able to think, Steve wondered about the emotional turmoil coursing through his veins, brought on, he was sure, by the crazy amount of medication they currently had him flying on. Before leaving the hospital, the doctor had told him the effects of the meds could be anything from feeling numb and disassociated, to being placed into a heightened emotional state. Apparently, each patient had a different reaction based on their own individual biological make up. So, lucky Steve, had been thrown onto the emotional rollercoaster end of the spectrum. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried as much as he had over the past 72 hours - and, yes, he was beginning to recall little snippets in the cave that had involved a few breakdowns. Not since his mother died had Steve shed so many tears.

Before his drug addled mind was able to take him down that dark road, the sound of the door opening downstairs yanked Steve back to the present. Maybe Danny had returned? He wiped the moisture from his eyes... and saw blurry shadows begin to take shape. The door... the wall...

"Danny?" Despair momentarily forgotten, Steve surged to his feet, excited to share this new development with his best friend. He bolted for the doorway... WHACK! And grunted when his knee collided with the door jamb. But his excitement had not abated. It was still progress. He couldn't see a lot but, darn it, he could see! So, with his hands extended out in front of him, he proceeded again, though more carefully this time, toward the door.

As he emerged out into the hallway, he was able to make out a figure coming up the stairs...

H50H50H50H50H50

Danny made it back to his own apartment but had yet to exit the vehicle. He sat with his forehead resting against the steering wheel, fingers wrapped so tight around it that his knuckles were white. Finally, he took a deep breath and sat back against the seat but kept his eyes closed. He thought back over the past few days and couldn't bring himself to regret any of it. He had only done what he believed to be the right thing to do to help Steve. He cringed inwardly. Nothing to regret until this morning, that is. Steve had stubbed his toe. Stubbed his friggin' toe! And Danny had fretted more than he would have if the same exact thing had happened to Grace! What was wrong with him? He was dealing with a grown man here. Worse. He was dealing with a SEAL for pity sake! Could he have been more condescending and patronizing! He hadn't meant to. He just... he just... Great! He couldn't even come up with a reasonable excuse for himself, how in the world was he going to explain his actions to Steve?

With a sigh of resignation, Danny turned the key still in the ignition and brought the engine back to life. If he couldn't come up with an excuse, he could at least offer up a heartfelt apology to his partner. As he stepped on the gas, he was silently thankful that he hadn't called Mary yet. If he was going to grovel and beg for forgiveness, he'd much rather do it without witnesses.

H50H50H50H50H50

_A/N Please take a moment to review? I did my best to keep the guys in character but it's difficult for me to write them arguing like this for some reason. I tried to put myself in Steve's shoes and project how I believe he would react given the circumstances. Not sure if I succeeded, though._


	9. Chapter 9

As soon as Danny pulled into the driveway, he knew something was wrong. There was an air of tension that had not been around Steve's house since his dad was murdered in the living room. The detective pulled his gun out of the locked glove compartment and exited the vehicle. He kept the weapon aimed at the ground until he reached the porch and saw that the front door was slightly ajar. Instantly, the gun came up, his arms tensed marginally, his heart raced more than marginally, and Danny nudged the door further open with the toe of his shoe.

"Steve," he called out, not really expecting an answer but hoping against hope to get one anyway. Expectation won out over hope as he entered the preternaturally silent house. He swept the gun in a wide berth as he crossed the threshold. Nothing seemed out of place. Not wanting to give any potential attacker the opportunity to come up behind him, Danny first cleared the lower level. No intruder lurked in the adjoining rooms.

Next, he made his way slowly but deliberately up the stairs, back to the wall, arms still outstretched, gun held at the ready. Nothing seemed disturbed in the upstairs hallway, either. Doing his best to slow his pounding heart, and failing miserably, Danny stepped up to Steve's bedroom door, the last place he had seen his partner. Again, he nudged the door open with his shoe and entered the room noiselessly.

This was apparently ground zero for whatever had gone down here. An arm chair was overturned. The nightstand was on its side, its contents covering the floor. The bedside lamp was laying next to the far wall, smashed to bits. The impression of a fist could be made out in another wall. Danny winced when he noticed the blood in the imprint because he knew, even blind, his partner would put up one heck of a fight.

He pulled out his cell phone and called the office. There was no denying it now. Steve McGarrett had been kidnapped!

H50H50H50H50

Kono, Chin, and Danny surrounded the command station at the Five-0 Headquarters. The first thing they had tried to do was get a location based on the GPS in Steve's cell phone. Unfortunately, the phone must have been either turned off or destroyed because they came up empty.

Now, the team was checking into the backgrounds of the thugs they had apprehended in the jungle a few days before, when this whole nightmare had started. They were unable to find anyone that they could link to this most recent, and personal, crime, however - and all the thugs were still resting not-so-comfortably in their prison cells.

Danny ran his hand through his hair in frustration. They couldn't very well find McGarrett if they didn't even know who took the stubborn sonuva -

"Sir?"

All three Five-0 members turned toward the new voice and found a uniformed officer in their midst. He was technically addressing Danny but Kono and Chin were quick to join the fold.

Danny accepted the DVD the officer was holding out to him. "What's this?"

"It's the latest footage from Lieutenant Commander McGarrett's personal security system."

"Footage," Chin and Kono asked simultaneously.

For his part, Danny just looked at the officer like the man had three heads.

"Yeah," the officer confirmed, his attention now moving back and forth between the three team members. "He had tiny cameras hidden in various strategic locations throughout the house. Mainly covering the front and back doors."

"That's my boy," Danny cheered, feeling hopeful for the first time since he pulled into Steve McGarrett's driveway.

H50H50H50H50

This time, Steve's rise to consciousness was anything but gradual. The bucket of ice cold water thrown in his face was a shock to the system, to say the least. Instinctively, he tried to raise his arms to defend himself, only to find them bound above his head. He did a quick assessment of his condition and circumstances.

He was in some kind of warehouse with lots of large pieces of equipment, which Steve was only able to see as blurred objects.

His eye sight was still not a hundred percent, a badly aching hand was testament to that - he winced at the realization that he was going to have to repair yet another wall in his house. Maybe that was something he and Danny could work on together. Granted, it was a small project but, after their most recent argument, Steve was pretty sure that starting off 'small' would be a good thing. Throw on some plaster, smooth it out, enjoy a couple bottles of beer... of course, all of this would be moot if he didn't find a way out of his current predicament.

Suddenly, one of the blurred objects moved! It was... walking toward him? Okay. Not a piece of machinery then. A man, judging by the way he walked. But, no matter how hard Steve tried, he was unable to make out a face. Then the man spoke and the SEAL no longer needed to see to know who his abductor was...

H50H50H50H50

Chin slipped the DVD into the console station, jumped ahead to just moments before the time frame that Steve McGarrett was left alone in his home, then joined Danny and Kono to watch whatever came up on the security footage.

You could have heard a pin drop at Five-0 Headquarters that day because, whether they realized it or not, each team member held their breath in anticipation of what they feared was going to be replayed for them on the high resolution view screen a few feet away.

They watched as a forlorn Danny exited the house. Kono couldn't help but cast a pitying glance at the detective but he kept his own gaze on the events playing before them, so she forced herself to only think of the matter at hand - one vulnerable friend at a time, thank you very much - and turned her attention back to the screen... just in time to see someone stroll right in like he owned the joint. When the door opened, he had been down on one knee, obviously picking the lock. Then, as he entered, he kept his face away from the view of the camera and stepped directly over to the alarm system and disconnected the silent alarm that would have otherwise alerted authorities to an intruder in the McGarrett household. As it was, whoever was on duty at the security company could have blinked and would not have even seen the blip on the radar, so to speak. Thankfully, the cameras seemed to be on a separate circuit. Knowing Steve, they probably weren't even associated with the security system at all. Most likely his own installation. Danny wouldn't be surprised at all if they even had night vision capabilities when necessary - just like the venerable SEAL himself.

Next, the stranger walked slowly up the steps, as if he had all the time in the world. Something about that cocky swagger tugged at a not-so-distant memory, but Danny just couldn't seem to be able to put his finger on it.

Despite the lack of action on the screen, the three team members remained riveted, not wanting to risk missing even the slightest clue about who they were dealing with - and whether or not Steve was taken alive.

This last was doubtful when they saw the stranger return to the stairwell, with Steve slung over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. Kono's hand flew to her mouth when she saw the amount of blood on Steve's face. He just seemed so... still.

"Is he - ?" She couldn't bring herself to give voice to her worst fear. Truthfully, it was the whole team's worst fear.

Danny was frozen in place, his mouth was dry, his hands clenched into fists, as he thought he was seeing a playback of his best friends death. Then: "Whoa, wait a minute. Did you two see that?" At the blank looks from Kono and Chin, he said, "Rewind that back a few seconds."

Chin complied as Danny stepped closer to the screen. "Okay, stop. Now play it back again." He waited patiently. The stranger was just now coming down the stairs again with Steve over his shoulders. "Now, zoom in for me, Chin." He circled an area with one finger. "Right about there."

Kono joined Danny up at the screen and Chin did as was requested. He zoomed in on Steve's face. And, there it was. A twitch. The smallest twitch in the history of twitches, but a twitch just the same. All three sighed with enormous relief that the investigation was still a search for their Lieutenant Commander and not a dead body.

Then all jaws dropped in shock when, just as the intruder stepped over the threshold, he looked directly up at the camera...

VICTOR HESSE!

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N Okay, so this has obviously become AU - Danny does indeed have a brother, Hesse was arrested, etc - so this chapter takes place as an alternative to what Hesse did to Chin, which is explained in the first couple paragraphs. I hope you enjoy._

Hesse eyed the injured McGarrett with curiosity. He waved a hand in front of his face but Steve, recognizing the ploy for what it was, forced his eyes to remain still.

"Yeah," Hesse laughed, "I heard about your current condition, McGarrett. Couldn't believe it, really. But, I have to tell you, it couldn't have happened at a more opportune time. I thought I was going to have to target one of your team in order to get you alone like this, had the explosive device picked out and everything, but you saved me the time and trouble. Thank you for that, by the way."

"You won't be thanking me for long, Victor."

"Big words for a handicapped person like yourself."

"The correct term is 'challenged' and, you know me, I'm always up for a challenge."

"Yes, I suppose you are," Hesse admitted, moving to his duffel bag and rummaging through it.

With Victor's back to him, Steve risked following the man with his eyes but his vision was still too blurred to be able to make out what he pulled out of the duffel. Sensing that he was turning back around, Steve averted his gaze straight ahead once again. Hating the fact that he was in this vulnerable position to begin with. True, he hated being vulnerable around anyone, even Danny, but at least he could trust Danny not to take advantage of his helplessness. Victor Hesse? Not so much. A fact that Victor was more than likely going to prove to him over the next few minutes.

"You have to admit, though, this is a fairly insurmountable challenge, yeah? For one, you are handcuffed to a large meat hook in a fish packing plant. Your feet don't even touch the floor, for pity sake. Two, your team has no idea where you are. I'm sure that one will change soon enough but it'll be too late. And, three, and this is my personal favourite... you're as blind as a bloody bat!"

Before Hesse got the last word out... WHACK!... Steve felt a searing agony across his ribcage. The unexpectedness of the sudden onslaught left the SEAL with no way to prepare himself and he was barely able to bite off the cry of pain. As it was, he only managed to grit his teeth, allowing not much more than a grunt to pass through his lips.

"You know," Hesse continued, his voice just a little too relaxed, "I watched an episode of Cops once where a suspect managed to free himself from the officer that was holding him down, grab the man's billy club, and beat him with it. I was quite impressed. The guy was a just a tiny snippet of a thing but he got quite a few hits in before the other cops managed to get him down."

WHACK!

Again, McGarrett refused to give Hesse the satisfaction of more than a grunt of pain in response.

"Not bad, Steve. Not bad at all. SEAL school taught you well, I see. High pain tolerance. I guess, I should go higher than high, then, yeah?" Without another word, Hesse reached up to Steve's cuffed hands, grabbed the right index finger and SNAPPED IT!

This time, Steve was unable to hold back the cry but it didn't last nearly long enough to satisfy Hesse. He did step back for a bit, though. Certainly, more to use the element of surprise again, than to give Steve time to compose himself.

"I will break you, McGarrett," Hesse declared, chuckling at his own choice of words. "No pun intended, of course."

H50H50H50H50

Danny sat at his desk, going through the files of every low life he could think of that may have a connection to Victor Hesse. Some had even turned their lives around, opening legitimate businesses, morphing into well respected citizens seemingly overnight. Yeah, right. Maybe some ex-cons were able to do this. Maybe some even made a valiant effort but, due to circumstances out of their control, fell back into the life of crime. Maybe. But not the likes of which he was researching right now. These guys were the scum of the scum. They had no interest whatsoever in going straight. Too much money and control to be had on the wrong side of the law.

Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair, then tried to wipe the weariness from his face. Unfortunately, there was no way to wipe that same weariness from his soul. The thought of what Hesse was probably doing to Steve, right now, while Danny was sitting nice and comfy in his cozy office...

His door opened and Chin poked his head in. "We got something," was all he had to say and Danny, exhaustion forgotten, was leaping out of his chair and following his friend out to the view screen.

"Okay," Kono began, "you gave us a bunch of files for known associates of Victor Hesse who are currently not incarcerated."

"Yeah, and?" Danny felt bad for his impatience but knew his team not only understood but even shared his edginess. They all wanted Steve back, sooner rather than later.

Kono whipped three photos and profiles from the console up to the view screen. "These three seem to be our best candidates."

"One," Chin supplied, "owns an old fish packing plant just outside of Kaaawa."

"And the other two," Kono added, "put their so-called legitimate funds together and purchased a goat farm up near Waianae. Both very isolated, leaving Hesse with the freedom to..." Kono couldn't bring herself to continue that thought, even bit her lip to stop the tears that threatened to fall.

"Okay," Danny decided, "we split up. You two take the goat farm. I'll take the fish packing plant... ugh. I hate the smell of fish."

"We can take that one, if you want," Chin offered.

"No, no, because I hate the smell of live stock even more."

H50H50H50

Hesse found preference in his use of the Billy club again - he hit Steve's thighs, knees, arms, stomach, chest, back. Each time, Steve grunted or arched, at one point he even growled, but not once did he cry out, whimper, or beg for mercy. Stubborn to the very end, he refused to give Victor Hesse what he wanted more than anything else... submission. The man had said it himself, he wanted to break McGarrett. And McGarrett, for his part, was not going to let that happen.

"You know, after this, I think I may head up to good ol' Los Angeles," Hesse taunted.

Steve's head whipped up at this and he made the mistake of directing his gaze straight at Hesse.

"Oh, well, maybe your sight is returning to you after all, yeah? No matter. It's not like you'll have the time to use it to save your precious little sister, anyway."

"You stay the hell away from her, you son of a - "

"Now, now, Steve. Did your mother teach you language like that? Oh, wait, that's right. She wasn't around long enough to teach you much of anything, now, was she?"

"Victor, I swear - "

Hesse simply gave Steve a condescending smile before adding, "I believe the exact address is 447 Central Boulevard in Santa Monica, right? Apartment 227?"

Victor's cell phone interrupted the joyous good time they were having. Steve strained to hear what was being said on the other end of the line but either Victor was standing too far away or the pain in the rest of his body was screaming too loudly for him to hear anything else. After a moment, Victor ended the call and placed the phone back into his pocket.

"Apparently, we're going to have to call an end to this little party, McGarrett. I have other, more important things to attend to before my trip to sunny Los Angeles." He picked up a water hose and aimed it at McGarrett. "However, I think you'll do better in your new accommodations if you're a little more wet."

Steve grit his teeth against the pain radiating through his right index finger as fear for his sister gave him renewed strength. He gripped the chain above the hook he was hanging from, swung his legs up and kicked the hose out of Victor's hands. This move elicited a mocking laugh from Hesse.

"Getting feisty now, are we," he asked, leaning down to pick up the hose again. "Well, your sight clearly is not a hundred percent because you completely missed me, you dumb fool!"

Steve waited for Hesse to stand and turn his back to him again, then grabbed the chain with his hands again, snaked his legs around Victor's neck and squeezed with all the strength he had left. Without wasting another minute, he used the leverage of Victor's shoulders to lift himself off the hook and wrapped the chain of the cuffs beneath Hesse's chin instead, pulling backward in the same movement, bringing them both to the floor. Still with a solid grip of Victor's throat, Steve leaned forward and said, his voice rich with venom, "I wasn't aiming for you!"

Hesse brought his elbow back and slammed it into Steve's ribs, mimicking the act of the billy club only moments before. Steve didn't release him but his grip loosened, enabling Victor to bring his head crashing back into Steve's face. The SEAL saw stars long enough for Victor to surge back to his feet.

After a brief moment, Steve did the same, though with more stumble and less surge. They circled around each other, each waiting for the other to make a move.

"Or, maybe," Hesse taunted, "maybe I'll go after that sweet thing you've been bangin' every chance you get, eh? Catherine, right? You're more like your father than I would have guessed."

His taunts pushed Steve past the point of logic and the SEAL rushed forward, plowing his shoulder into the other man's mid-section. Anticipating this move, Hesse quickly brought the billy club up and hammered it down across Steve's skull and shoulders.

McGarrett collapsed to the floor in a heap.

H50H50H50

Why did it have to be a fish plant? I mean, really. Couldn't McGarrett have himself taken to a nice, un-smelly abandoned warehouse, or something? Danny sighed inwardly, thankful that at least he wasn't headed to the goat farm. He shivered at the mere thought of it.

As he pulled up to the plant, his spidey-senses started tingling again. Something was just not right about this place. He drove past the large roll up doors, got out of his vehicle and stepped cautiously toward the man door a few feet away. The fact that it was unlocked did nothing to calm his adrenalized nerves.

Danny slipped inside, feeling much like he had at Steve's place yesterday afternoon except he had at least known his surroundings there. Here it was dark and dingy and he had no idea where the possible criminal hidey-holes were. Not to mention the smell. One thing he was able to say about Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, he kept his house spic 'n span. It might not smell lemon fresh but it certainly didn't test the gag reflex.

Reaching out blindly, Danny found a switch on a nearby wall and was more than a little surprised when it worked and the room was flooded with light. Keeping his gun at the ready, he searched the main level of the warehouse until he came upon a large puddle of water. Odd. Stranger still were the rivulets of red swimming through the water... Danny grit his teeth at the realization of what those streams of red indicated.

He followed the splotches of water - and that's exactly what they were, splotches, like someone was drowned and then dragged across the floor. His heart clenched when the trail ended at a large walk in freezer. And the door was (of course!) wedged shut with a large wrench.

With his heart now hammering in his chest, he tore the wrench out of the handle and ripped the door open, revealing a way-too-still-SEAL huddled on the floor and handcuffed to a support bar near the back of the freezer.

"McGarrett?" Danny asked, rushing to his partner's side. "Steve, can you hear me?" He cringed at the blue tinge of Steve's lips as he reached out to check for a pulse. As soon as he touched him though, Steve became a live-wire, morphing from victim to Super Seal in zero point one seconds. "Whoa! Steve," Danny exclaimed. But his partner didn't seem to hear him. He just thrashed and pulled at the cuffs, trying to free himself. Judging from the rawness of his wrists, this was not the first time, either. When his thrashing resulted in Steve's right index finger coming into contact with the support bar, which, in turn, elicited a brief whimper, Danny had had enough. He grabbed his partner's upper arms in a firm grip, only to let go when Steve grunted in pain. Not wanting to hurt him again, Danny simply framed Steve's face with his hands and forced his head up toward him. "McGarrett! Steve, look at me!" Finally, the SEAL made eye contact with his partner. The contact wasn't completely focussed but it was there.

"D?"

"Yeah, partner. You with me, man?"

"H-H-H-He's g-g-g-goin' after M-M-Mary, Danny! He's goin' after M-M-Mary!" Steve began to struggle against the cuffs again but Danny gripped his arms just above the wrists, careful to avoid the raw skin beneath the cuffs, praying there was no injury that he couldn't see.

"Steve, stop it! Hesse is not going to hurt Mary, okay! He's not!"

Steve looked back up at him, pleadingly. "H-H-How d-d-do you kn-kn-know?"

"Because you, my friend, are Super Seal and I am from New Jersey, and that's just an unbeatable combination. Add to that the Dynamic Hawaiian Cousins, and Hesse doesn't stand a chance!" This earned a slight smile from Steve and he calmed a bit. "Now, what say we get you outta here? Cuz, I don't know about you, but I'm finding it a little chilly in here. And I'm from a state where it actually _snows _in the winter!" He turned his attention to the cuffs and tried to unlock them but the key hole was filled with ice. Come to think of it, Steve was sitting on a sheet of ice that looked a little out of place, freezer or no.

Noticing Danny's attention to the sheet of ice below him, Steve said, "H-H-Hosed me d-d-down after he p-put me in h-h-here."

"Wow. Hesse never just goes half way with this torture and murder stuff, does he? Hang in there, partner. I'll be right back, okay?"

As soon as Danny was rewarded with a quick nod, he darted back to the car, grabbed a set of bolt cutters and a blanket from the trunk, then pulled out his cell to call for the EMT's. About 20 minutes out? Seriously?

Tossing his cell onto the front seat of the car so that they could locate the warehouse easily with his GPS signal, he rushed back into the warehouse and his injured partner.

First, he snapped the chain of the cuffs with the bolt cutters. Next, he wrapped the blanket around Steve's shoulders. Then, he helped his partner to his feet and offered his support as they stumbled out of the freezer, then the plant and, finally, out into the sun warmed air.

When Steve's legs gave out on him just outside the door, Danny sank to the pavement with him and bundled his partner against his chest. Steve shivered and trembled in Danny's arms. Even his hair was frozen over! Suddenly remembering the pain in Steve's index finger, Danny pulled his right hand out from under the blanket. Steve hissed in pain when Danny manipulated the appendage to check for damage. He grit his teeth for what seemed like the millionth time that day and said, "Next time you get a good shot at this guy, shoot him in the face, okay?" He needed to set the finger, which meant he needed the medical kit, which meant he needed to get to the trunk of his car. He started to get up but Steve gripped his shirt with his good hand. "It's okay. I'm not goin' far. I need to get the med kit out of the trunk. I'll just be a second, okay?"

After a brief moment, Steve released his grip on Danny's shirt. He was embarrassed by his need to have his partner close, but his body needed the warmth and... the comfort? The sense of being safe? Nope. Not goin' there.

True to his word, Danny returned a second later, maybe two, but who was counting? Not Steve McGarrett. No way. Uh-uh. He also didn't sigh with relief when Danny sat behind him once again and pulled him back against his chest.

Danny took three thick bandages out of the kit and wrapped them around Steve's index finger and middle finger, using the latter as a bit of a brace for the broken appendage. He felt Steve tense in his arms and knew what he was doing had to be hurting his partner but not a single sound emanated from the injured SEAL and Danny shook his head in wonder at the conditioning that kind of pain tolerance must require. When he finished with the third bandage, he was shocked to find himself shoved roughly away but quickly understood when Steve lunged to the side and heaved whatever was left in his stomach onto the pavement. For a moment, Danny gave his partner the space he needed but when he saw Steve's arms shaking with fatigue, he wrapped his arm around the knotted stomach and braced the forehead with his palm, half expecting the frozen flesh to fuse to his otherwise warm hand, much the way a frozen pole sticks to an overly curious child's tongue.

Once Steve was done, Danny bundled him against his chest again and half carried, half dragged his incoherent partner away from the mess on the pavement. "Help is on the way, Steve. Help is on the way. Just hang on for me, partner." Another moment passed, while Danny listened to the chattering of teeth and felt the blessed, if cold, puffs of air coming out of his partner's mouth. Then: "Man, McGarrett! Only _you_ could manage to get hypothermia in friggin' Hawaii!"

But, as they waited for the paramedics, Steve's continued stillness unnerved Danny. "You okay," he asked quietly. Steve refused to look at him. In fact, the SEAL's eyes were squeezed shut, probably against the mortification of his current circumstances. "Steve, don't worry about it, okay? This is just what partners do for each other... it's what _friends _do for each other."

The silence that followed was so long that Danny was sure his partner had fallen asleep, then he heard something mumbled against his shirt. "What was that?" He leaned down a bit, hoping to hear what was said.

"Ohana," Steve whispered, a thick weariness coating his voice. "Not just friends... Ohana."

Danny couldn't help but smile as he rearranged the blanket over his partner's shoulders. "That's right, Steve," he said, cinching the SEAL that much closer, placing his chin on the iced-over hair and framing the frozen jaw with one hand. "Ohana."

COMPLETE

_A/N Yes, this chapter brings an end to this story, however, I am writing a sequel. So, it will reflect happenings in 'Phobia' but will take a totally different turn. Keep an eye out for 'Ohana'... coming soon to a fan fic near you! LoL Seriously, I already have the first chapter mapped out, and I seem to be on a Five-0 roll, so it shouldn't be too long. Onward and upward. Don't know why I said that. Anyway. I hope you enjoyed my latest multi-chapter fic. ~Kelcor_

_A/N2 You've all stuck with me during the long and sometimes arduous process of writing this story, the least I could do is play genie and do a bit of editing. __So, for those of you who wanted more h/c in this chapter, I hope your wish was granted...? ~Kelcor_


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